beyond the struggle

 We all have gone through struggles and will face struggles in this life: sickness, pain, loss, fear, thoughts we think, things done to us, acts of nature, life in general has hardships and struggles. Spiritually, we face struggles of being steadfast, faithful, consistent, and strong in our resolve of faith. We are faced with struggles that seem to keep us from every promise we have from God. His word is full of promises for every believer. He has given us promises individually as well. Promises for our families and promises spiritually. Those promises may seem deterred or out of reach. But, in faith, we can look beyond the struggles and the promise is still there.  

Moses was given a promise, At the first sign of trouble he began to question. In Exodus 5:20-23 we see Moses asking God why he is allowing Pharoah to punish the Israelites and not actually delivered them at all. 

Exodus 5:20-23 

And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us .And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Yet, Moses knew who had the power to change things. He had gone straight to the Source. He ran to God and God answered with deliverance. 

We also see David had a promise. He was chosen to be king of Israel. He went through years of trials. years of Saul chasing and trying to kill him. His promise seemed far away. At one point, David faced a great trial, he wept and grieved, but ran to God. He knew where his help came from. 

1 Samuel 30: 1-8

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.  

 David was faced with the loss of all he had, his family, home, livestock, all he had. Even his men were ready to take it out on him. He ran to God and encouraged himself in the Lord. He prayed and asked God to lead him. He asked God what to do next. If you keep reading, we find that God did exactly what he promised. 

We also need to run to God when his promises seem far away.  Moses and David are great examples of this. They were given great promises that seemed defeated and unlikely to come to pass. Yet, when they called on God, he responded with the next step.  We need to remember that he cares and already has a plan set in motion.

⁷ Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  1 Peter 5:7

God is able to work it out and leads us further down the path if we but rely on him, ask for his wisdom and guidance and seek him first. he is able to give us strength, establish us and make us more in his image. He is working to bring about his will in our lives. We can be encouraged in his word and be settled, calm and in peace knowing we are in his plan.

¹⁰ But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.  1 Peter 5:10

 We can be grounded and find a peace knowing God is working it for our good. He has called and made his promises known to us for a reason. He will not allow his word to fall void and he will fulfill his word. 

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

 God fights the battles. The answer is on the way.  Our flesh is weak and becomes afraid, When we look with the natural eyes, the promises may seem unavailable and impossible. But God is a Spirit. We are to walk in the spirit. God is fighting for us. We cannot allow our thoughts to be distracted by the natural appearance of a situation. God is mighty, powerful and nothing is impossible for him. That battle before you already has an answer in God. Use your spiritual eyes, increase your faith. Use the weapons God has given you. Pray, Speak his word. Call on his name! His Word is our weapon. 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 7

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? if any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

The enemy will be defeated as he attempts to destroy what God has given us. We cannot allow ourselves to give in to anything that tells us we will never see the promise of God. We can be encouraged that God's word is true. God will allow us to walk right over the enemy that tried to destroy us with peace and victory. We will be triumphant when we are aware of the devices the enemy uses against us. He attempts to give us unbelief, doubt, and fear. If he can get us to fear or no longer believe, he destroys our faith. Keep the faith! 

Romans 16:19-20

For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

 We can be confident that Gods promises are yes!  He has promised and he will never lie. He is the God of truth. His word is true. When he speaks, there should never be a doubt.

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 2 Corinthians 1:20

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; Titus 1:2

Be encouraged in faith.  If you have a promise the enemy has tried to destroy, call on God. Run to him. Ask him to lead. He has the next step for you. He has the plan in place. He can change to situation just as he did the Moses and the children of Israel. He can restore what the enemy has stolen. He can bring it back and make you whole again. He is able to do more and exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think.  Lay it all at the feet of Jesus and let him do what only he can do. Look beyond the struggle at the promises of God. His promises will be fulfilled. His promises are true. 

 

 

launch out

 Have you ever felt like God is challenging you to grow, go deeper, or do something you never thought you could do?  Have you questioned, worried, or tried to figure out how that dream you have for ministry will ever come to pass?  I think we may all have had some experience with this.  We want to see the dreams God has given us to come to fruition. We want to be used of God. I think Peter may have experienced this a few times. He started out with God telling him to do something a little crazy after trying to fish all night and had caught nothing. They were tired and ready to go home. But Jesus challenged.

Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. Luke 5:4

Upon obeying, the catch was so great it caused the nets to break. It did not make sense but Jesus stepped in and changed the situation. 

Another momentous act was when the disciples were out in the boat tossed by the waves when Jesus came walking on the water. When Jesus cheerfully revealed himself, Peter asked, "If it is you, bid me come. "

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. Matthew 14:29

Here we see Peter obeyed and placed his trust in Jesus.  Yes, in the second story, we can read that Peter became fearful and Jesus had to pull him up from sinking. But the point is, he stepped out of that boat and began walking on the water. 

So many times, we may feel called to move, speak, write, or go, but we allow doubt and fear to hinder and stop us. God wants us to trust and obey.  I have spent many times of my life afraid of the outcome and did not do what I know God was asking of me. I did not obey all the while saying, "I trust you Lord." I did not demonstrate that trust with obedience. I hope I am not alone in that confession. 

God is ready to use his people. The first step is to trust, then obey.  The word 'obey' is in the King James Version 114 times with varying examples of those who do and don't obey the word of the Lord. I want to choose to obey his voice. 

I must know His voice. I cannot obey effectively if I have not spent time getting to know the voice of God. This comes with prayer, study of the word, some fasting, even and yes, listening. I must hear his voice. Jesus said in John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  We will hear and know his voice when we follow him.

I want to obey in the small things so when he decides I am ready to tackle the big things, he can trust me to listen, trust and obey. Jesus spoke a parable demonstrating this very principle in Luke 19. He told the servant that he had been faithful in the little things and placed him as ruler over ten cities. I want to demonstrate to God that I am faithful in the small things. The Bible is full of small things we are to do. Love God first, love others, study to show yourself approved pray without ceasing, be witnesses, and the list can go on and on.  When we work on these small things, God can find us able to be used in greater ways or magnify these small things into great effectiveness for the Kingdom of God.  Sometimes, I think we see these commandments as a drudgery or as not important in the Kingdom, but without the foundations being laid and built, the Kingdom cannot stand. Each of us has a part in the Kingdom of God. We are all part of the plan and part of the building as well as the building process. Each stone laid is for a purpose in the Kingdom of God. Every prayer, time in study, time in worship, words spoken to share the gospel are not unnoticed by the King. 

So, I come to the verses again. Launch Out! Come! When God speaks and lays something on your heart, launch out and do what he is speaking.